White Rose Tea
by Brightbriar
Summary: Weiss works at a coffee shop, The White Stag. About two weeks into her new job, a rather unusual customer begins to frequent the place, with a rather unusual order - rose tea, with milk. Weiss quickly finds herself developing feelings for girl, Ruby, and with a little help from Blake, attempts to manage her feels while interacting with her crush. (Coffee Shop AU - very fluffy!)
1. Chapter 1

**Cover art done by ram-jam on dA ^^**

 **(I would add a link, but fanfic won't let me...)**

* * *

" _Dammit_!"

Weiss cursed under her breath as she cycled up the road towards The White Stag. _I've blown it. I've completely blown it. I've made the worst possible first impression. My second week into this job and I'm 20 minutes late; on a Saturday of all days! They're busiest day of the week, besides Thursdays. Blake's probably already there, serving customers I should be handling-_

She skidded to a halt outside the small coffee shop. It was strangely deserted. She frowned, then walked over to the sign showing the opening hours. _Surely..._

She blinked. They opened at 8:00 on a Saturday, not 7:30, which was what she had assumed. She didn't need to be there until 7:50. She was ten minutes early.

She propped her bike against he wall and let out a sigh of relief, then grabbed the keys to the back door from the pocket of her shirt, which was, of course, strictly within the dress code, and let herself in. She took the chairs off the tables, arranged the boxes of tea and baked goods by the counter, checked the fridge that kept the jugs of water cool was on, keeping herself busy until Blake arrived.

Blake was the only other person who worked on Saturdays. Weiss hadn't quite figured her out yet. She was quiet, mysterious, and always seemed to have a book somewhere nearby. But she was good at making coffee. Weiss was better at taking orders, so they worked well as a team.

When Blake did come in, they opened almost immediately, as per her advice. Blake had been working at The White Stag for much longer, and had a lot more experience, so she was able to guess that most customers would come earlier rather than later.

The White Stag had been open for a while now. The fashionable, almost boutique coffee shop, like all coffee shops, had its regular customers. The ones that grabbed something quickly on the way to work. The ones that came daily during their lunch break. There was even a writer who sat for hours in the back corner by the window, typing away on a laptop, meeting with publishers and editors as if it was her office.

But none of these regulars were quite like Ruby Rose.

Weiss had already served a couple of people when Ruby first came in, on that Saturday morning. The first thing that struck the barista about her was her bright red cloak, which didn't fit in anywhere within a kilometre radius of the place.

A voice came from outside, and while the door was open, a motorcycle engine could be heard. "Don't take too long!"

"Okay, Yang!" the customer called back, throwing back the hood, revealing a bright, childish face and silver eyes gleaming with mischief. She let go of the door, letting it swing shut, then approached the counter, looking up at the menu displayed on the back wall. As she was walking, she managed to knock over a chair with some sort of weapon which was slung across her back. The girl quickly dashed over, standing the chair back up, looking anxious and awkward and adorable all at the same time. She glanced around to see if anyone had seen, remaining oblivious to Weiss's critical glare as she watched from the cash register. The girl finally caught her eye and smiled grimly, apologetically. Weiss rolled her eyes as the customer stepped up to the counter.

"Could I have..." she trailed off, looking up at the menu again. "Gosh, you have a lot of options for a coffee shop of this size. Ooh, and you have tea! Do you have any herbal teas?"

"We have the largest variety of teas in the area," Weiss said proudly, slightly amused by the girl's excitement over such a trivial matter.

"Wow..." she breathed, looking at the assortment of loose leaf teas on the counter. "Do you have rose tea?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." she paused, looking up at the menu gain. "Do you think I could get strong rose tea, with milk in it?"

Weiss hesitated. Herb tea with milk in it was certainly strange. "Rose tea...with milk?" she confirmed.

"Yeah."

Weiss frowned. "So...white rose tea?"

Ruby nodded. "Can you do that here?" she asked brightly, as if the order wasn't strange at all.

"...sure. Can I get a name?"

"Ruby."

"Have here, or take away?"

"Take away, please."

"Okay, that'll be 3.50."

At this point, Blake looked over at her, surprise evident on her face. They normally charged a lot more for herbal teas. Weiss pretended she hadn't noticed as Ruby fished around her dress pockets for some change, quickly handing it over.

 _White rose tea_... Weiss thought to herself. That was the strangest order she'd had since she started working here, besides that one Canadian who came in every so often and order coffee with maple syrup in it. Nonetheless, she started boiling the kettle as Ruby leant against the counter.

"So, who are you?"

Weiss looked up. "Pardon?"

Ruby shrugged. "Just making conversation."

"I'm Weiss," she said quickly, before turning back around to pour the boiling water into Ruby's cup.

"Weiss? Isn't that white in German or something?"

"Yes."

"That's ironic," the girl replied, laughing a little.

Weiss narrowed her eyes, not looking around, reaching for the teabag. "Why would it be so ironic if my name meant 'white'?" _If anything I thought it'd be quite fitting._

"Well my surname's Rose. So it's ironic."

 _White Rose._

"Plus, you work at The White Stag."

Weiss blinked. "I suppose that would be a strange coincidence."

Ruby shrugged, and sprung onto a nearby table, swinging her legs, which didn't quite reach the ground. Weiss did her best to ignore her increasing heart rate, and the heat she could feel in her cheeks.

 _Stop it! She's cute, sure, but...in that way?_

Weiss nervously checked her watch. She had to stand there awkwardly for another minute before the tea was strong enough. She allowed herself to glance at Blake, who was handing coffees to a couple of other people. Blake made eye contact, then glanced at Ruby. Then back at Weiss. Then raised her eyebrows, her amber eyes gleaming with curiosity. Weiss blushed even more deeply. _W-what is she trying to say?!_

After what felt like hours, the tea was done. She quickly took out the teabag and threw into the bin near the back corner, then reached for the milk, smoothly pouring a little bit in, as if it was English Breakfast or something. _I hope that's what she wanted._

She picked up the paper cup, put a lid on it, then turned around to give it to Ruby, who was waiting expectantly. "Here you go," she said quickly, hoping the red in her cheeks had lessened. "One white rose tea."

"Thankyou!"

Weiss smiled. "H-have a nice day!" she called as Ruby opened the door, leaving the shop.

"You too! I'll come back tomorrow!"

Weiss found herself staring at the door for a good couple of minutes after Ruby left, though she couldn't put her finger on why. Eventually Blake came over and nudged her. "You like her," she stated quietly.

"What!?"

Blake smiled softly. "I don't know if you prefer girls in general, but you definitely like her."

"How did you-"

"3.50? Avoiding her gaze? Blushing like there was no tomorrow? Please, Weiss, stop trying to deny it."

Weiss crossed her arms, looking away. "It's none of your business if I like her," she huffed, but Blake just laughed, before moving on to serve the next customer.

* * *

Weiss couldn't have been more shocked when Ruby returned to The White Stag the very next day.

The bells on the door rung brightly as she pushed it open. Blake looked over at Weiss, her eyebrows shooting upwards, but Weiss pointedly ignored her, though her heart suddenly thudded harder in her chest when she recognised the customer. Ruby came in, dressed in much the same clothing - black dress, lined with red, black stockings and boots, and that bright red hood. Weiss looked at Blake desperately, mouthing 'help', but Blake just winked. Weiss let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Hello, Weiss! I was hoping you'd be here!" Ruby said brightly, resting her forearms on the counter, smiling.

 _She was_? "Y-you were?"

"Well, yeah. You seem nice."

Weiss felt her stomach flutter.

"And," she went on. "I don't have to explain my order a second time if you're here, do I?"

"I guess not. Same thing then?" Weiss replied, pleased that her voice didn't sound as shaky as she expected.

"Yes, please! But eat in, this time."

 _Eat in? So she'll be here even longer? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?!_

Weiss nodded and reached for the rose tea, cursing under her breath as her shaking hand knocked the entire box off the shelf, sending teabags all over the floor. Ruby looked up, surprised. "I'll help," she offered.

Weiss knelt down, starting to pick them up. "No, you don't have to-"

But Ruby had already jumped easily over the counter, landing heavily beside Weiss.

Right beside her.

 _Oh God_... The counter wasn't separating them any more. Ruby knelt down and helped pick up the rose tea scattered across the tiles. Her silver eyes finally met Weiss's icy blue ones as she picked as many teabags as she cold hold at once and handed them to Weiss. Weiss swallowed hard. "Thanks."

"No problem." Ruby continued to hold Weiss's gaze, and Weiss was relatively sure she'd have a heart attack right then. "Are..." Ruby trailed off, offering her hand to Weiss so that she could pull her up. "Are you okay? Your hands are still shaking."

"I'm fine," Weiss replied, but she said it a bit too quickly. "I-I just...it's cold in here."

"Oh. That would explain why your cheeks are all red, too."

Weiss's eyes widened as they probably went even redder. "Are they?"

"Yeah," Ruby laughed. "They're really, really red."

"Like roses," Weiss joked, taking Ruby's hand. Ruby laughed. The sound was enough to to make her grin like an idiot as she got to her feet, with Ruby's help, and brushed dust off her knees.

Ruby inconspicuously stepped around to the other side of the counter. Weiss hesitated, reluctant to use the teabag which had just been on the floor. As she continued to pause, holding the teabag above the cup, Ruby eventually stated she didn't care, so Weiss put it in and started boiling some water.

"I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"How much is this?" Ruby pointed to a cinnamon roll inside a case by the counter.

Weiss paused this time to make sure she got the price right. "5.50."

Ruby smiled. "I'll take one of those too then!"

"Sure."

"Thankyou!"

Weiss handed Ruby a number for her table, and Ruby took it over to the one closest to the window. As she did so, Blake came in from the back entrance, carrying a couple of bags of coffee beans. "I had to leave as you were taking her order. How did it go?"

"How did what go?"

"I don't know. Interacting with her, in general."

Weiss went slightly red again. "Fine."

Blake grinned. "You screwed up, didn't you?"

Weiss glared sourly at the box of rose tea. Blake rolled her eyes. "Did she want anything else?"

"Cinnamon roll."

"Okay, I'll take it out to her."

"Wait."

Blake looked around at Weiss, faintly surprised. Weiss swallowed nervously, looking over at Ruby. She was taking off her cloak, draping it over the back of the chair. "I'll do it," Weiss murmured, watching as she pulled out the chair and sat down.

"Okay."

Blake moved over to the cash register to intercept another customer as Weiss continued to gaze steadily at Ruby. Did she really...like her? Most signs seemed to point to a pretty solid 'yes'. She was incredibly sweet and good-natured, very charming, and even if she was a little awkward, to Weiss, that could only add to her charm. And her eyes...those silver eyes that expressed so much emotion, were so wide and innocent. And her concern and interest in a total stranger was touching.

It took a moment for her to register that Ruby was staring back at her, grinning. Weiss jumped back, she was so surprised, making Ruby laugh. Weiss awkwardly averted her eyes, turning some obscene shade of scarlet, while Ruby continued to badly attempt to stifle her laughter.

Burning with embarrassment, Weiss turned around and took the teabag out of Ruby's tea - it had been brewing for long enough. She quickly put in a dash of milk, picked up the cinnamon bun off the counter, (Blake had already put it on a plate,) and walked over.

Ruby smiled as she approached, hastily taking her arms off the table so that Weiss could put down the food. "Thankyou! Say..." She paused, narrowing her eyes, looking at the empty seat opposite her. Eventually she shrugged, then looked back at Weiss. "Are you still cold?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Weiss replied steadily.

"Are you sure? You can have my cloak - I can't have drinks when they're really hot, so I'll be here for a while-"

"Thanks, but no," Weiss repeated. "I do...really appreciate you offering though," she added hesitantly.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"You hardly know me."

"So?"

Weiss shrugged. "It's just...unusual."

"Like white rose tea?"

"Exactly like white rose tea," she grinned. _Unusual, intriguing, and incredibly sweet._

With that, she returned to the counter to serve other customers. They closed at midday on a Sunday, so it wouldn't be terribly long until she could go home, though she did hope that the time would pass more slowly while Ruby was here.

* * *

As Ruby had said, she'd taken a while to drink the tea - she stayed near the window for a good half hour while it cooled down. At one point Weiss had asked if she wanted her to make it a little cooler in the first place next time, but Ruby had just shaken her head. "I like watching the people in the café, and outside while I wait, and that cinnamon roll was really good. Do you have any cookies?"

Eventually Ruby paid, and left. To Weiss's surprise, Blake didn't mention her again that day - Weiss was grateful for that. She was prepared for Ruby to come back now - she was determined not to be caught off guard like that again.

Weiss only worked at The White Stag on weekends, and Monday afternoons, the only afternoon she had free period, when she didn't have to study. She also had a free every second week on a Monday, so she could make sure she arrived early.

Usually she didn't hurry to get there on those Mondays - she didn't have to be there until 3:00 - but today she made a beeline for the coffee shop, eager to arrive early so as not to miss Ruby, should she come. Besides, there was something else she wanted to do.

She let herself in and made for the rose tea. She quickly boiled some water, put a teabag in, trying to forget that it had probably been on the floor the day before, poured the hot water and waited impatiently for the tea to brew, tapping her foot on the tiles. She knew Blake wouldn't turn up today, so she wouldn't be questioned as to why she was doing this - it was Fox and Coco that worked alongside her on Mondays, (they worked every afternoon on weekdays,) and they usually kept to themselves. They were both a couple of years older than her, and she had the impression that they knew each other rather well.

She took the teabag out, poured in the milk, and let the tea cool down for a couple of minutes before finally putting it to her lips.

 _It tasted freaking incredible._

She finished it quickly and threw out the paper cup, putting some money into the cash register as Coco and Fox came in. They exchanged greetings, then got to work before opening.

Ruby didn't come that day. Weiss couldn't help but be disappointed.

 _Next weekend. She might come on Saturday._


	2. Chapter 2

The next Saturday, Ruby did come back.

The look on her face when she saw Weiss was one of joy, and relief. She bounded over to the counter, a grin plastered on her face. "I was worried you wouldn't be here! Where were you the past few days?"

Weiss looked over, surprised. _She was worried?_ "I don't work most weekdays," she explained. "Just Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The usual? To have here?"

"Yes, please!"

Blake gave Weiss a knowing glance and stepped up to the counter to take the next person's order while Weiss made the tea. Ruby was eyeing the cabinet of sweets. "I can't choose...do I get the cinnamon roll, which was really good last time, or try something different?"

"I recommend the gingerbread," Blake advised, overhearing, as she took another customer's money. Ruby smiled and said she'd take one.

They were unusually busy this morning. Weiss has to make two people's coffees while Ruby's tea brewed. She didn't have much time to converse with Ruby, or to get flustered by her presence, which was still somewhat distracting, even if it wasn't completely unexpected.

Ruby took the same table by the window, and once again, sat there for a while, slowly sipping the tea. Weiss couldn't help but wonder why Ruby seemed to be looking over at her so often, quickly, guiltily averting her gaze whenever Weiss met it, laughing a little at herself.

This time, Ruby stayed even after she finished her tea, pulling out a book from her bag. When Weiss passed her, serving drinks to a few writers in the back corner, Ruby asked when her break was.

"12:30. I get half an hour."

"Cool." Ruby then returned to her reading.

Weiss felt her stomach flip. Was Ruby going to wait around until 12:30? For her? Why?

The rest of the morning passed pretty uneventfully. Ruby kept on catching Weiss's eye as she passed by, smiling, her tea well and truly finished by now. She really was going to wait for her. Blake gave Weiss a quizzical look when she noticed Ruby was still there, her red cloak draped over her chair, but Weiss didn't have much of an idea of why Ruby was waiting around either, nor why she'd been coming in daily recently, hoping to see her.

By the time 12:30 finally came, Weiss was terrified. _What if she knows? What would I say? Heck, what do I say anyway? Why does she want to talk to me in the first place? She probably knows I like her, damn it. But then, if she had a problem with that, why does she come back? Why did she keep coming back to find me during the week? Why would-_

Weiss's internal monologue was interrupted as Blake nudged her. "You've been drying that same mug for the past five minutes - I think it's good."

"Oh, right."

"Are you going to have your break or...?"

"Right. Yes."

Blake let out a quiet, long, 'ohhh' as she connected the dots as to why Ruby was still here and why Weiss was so nervous. "You'll be fine," she said affectionately, nudging her again.

"You think?"

"Of course."

Weiss nodded, and took one last deep breath before striding over to the table by the window. Ruby was still absorbed in her book. Weiss paused, then pulled out the chair on the other side of the table. Ruby looked up.

"Is it really 12:30 already?"

Weiss nodded mutely. Ruby folded the corner of the page she was on, then closed it and moved it to the side of the table. "Hi."

"Hi."

The stared at each other for a couple of seconds. "So..." Ruby started, as lost for words as Weiss was.

 _Damn it! Why does this have to be so awkward_... "So, uh..." she broke off, glancing around the room for something to talk about. She caught Blake's eye, and the other barista tried to stifle a laugh, then discreetly picked her own book up and waved it in the air. Weiss mouthed the words 'thankyou so much', then turned back to Ruby. "What's the book about?"

Ruby's silver eyes lit up. "It's a romance book. Set in World War Two. About a British girl who pretends to be a guy so that she can join the Air Force, but falls in love with a German fighter pilot who was shot down over allied territory in Italy," she said easily, smiling. Weiss's heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful when she smiled.

Weiss carefully rested her elbows on the table, folding her arms. "Does the German like her back?"

Ruby shrugged. "He thinks she's a guy."

"Oh, of course," Weiss said quickly.

"But..." Ruby went on tentatively, glancing at the book, "The author, Riley Fisher, was going to make him bisexual originally so that he fell in love with her in the outset, but the publishers said there was no way it would turn a profit that way."

Weiss sniffed disdainfully. "Homophobes. She should have self-published."

Ruby relaxed, apparently relieved that Weiss shared her opinion. "I know, right? It could have been so...deep. He could have fallen in love with her thinking she was a guy, found out she was a girl after all, then continued to love her anyway. It could have made a huge statement about love going beyond gender, and that sort of thing."

Weiss nodded, about to agree, but Ruby went on: "But...I read on her blog that in the end she likes it better the way it is. The plot was simpler, stronger, easier to follow. So I suppose some good came out of it."

Weiss was genuinely curious now. "How does it end?"

"I don't know yet. I don't think it'll be a completely happy ending - there's too many things that could go wrong. But I really hope they end up together."

Weiss nodded. So Ruby was open to those sorts of relationships too - to love going beyond gender. Maybe not personally - she was probably still straight - but it was still good to know she probably wouldn't judge her if she knew. She checked her watch. Only a few minutes had passed. "So..." she paused, trying to think of a way to keep the conversation going. "Are you new in the neighbourhood? I hadn't seen you until now." _And I definitely would have remembered you._

"Yes, we moved in about a month ago, a few blocks away. I normally walk, but Yang, my sister comes on her motorbike during the week, sometimes. Our father was offered a job here."

"Yeah? What does he do?"

"He's a teacher at Signal. We'd have bought a house closer, but it's really expensive over there. What about your family?"

"My father owns a mining company. My mother died giving birth to me."

Ruby's face fell. "Oh, wow. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'm used to it. Winter didn't take it well though - she's my older sister, so she remembers her."

Ruby nodded. "Actually...my mother's dead too," she said quietly. "I was really young. She was in the army."

Weiss smiled weakly. "I suppose we have a bit in common then."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So..." Weiss frantically searched for a topic to try and keep the conversation moving. "Why do you only ever get tea?"

"I can't get white rose anywhere else. And I get really, really high on coffee."

Silence fell again. After the pause came long enough that it was awkwardly, Weiss tentatively asked what she'd been dying to know for the past few hours. "Why did you wait? Why did you keep coming back?"

Ruby paused, stiffening. She glanced around the room as if looking for a reason to be here, sighing as she gave up, defeated. "I wanted to see you again," she said quietly.

Weiss blinked. "Really?"

"...yeah."

"Why?"

Ruby looked behind her, as if searching for a way out of this. "I...er..." She dropped her gaze nervously, fingering the pages of her book. "I like you."

Weiss's eyes widened - Ruby seemed to pick up on this, so she hastily corrected herself. "Not in that way! Not in that way! You seem nice. I want to get to know you better."

"Well...I like you too," Weiss said slowly, her cheeks burning, leaving Ruby to interpret that any way she wanted.

Ruby's eyes brightened, and she grinned. "I'm going to keep coming back then," she said cheerfully, winking. Weiss felt her breath catch in her throat.

"I'd...like that."

* * *

The next morning, Sunday, Weiss felt incredibly happy. Slightly delirious, even. Because she _knew_ Ruby was coming back.

Blake couldn't quite figure out why Weiss was in such a good mood - she was generally pretty sour this early on a Sunday - they hadn't even opened yet. They had to restock on Sunday - the owner of the place, Emerald Sustrai, had been away for the past month, and had left her friend, (Weiss suspected he was more than a friend,) Mercury, in charge of making sure baked goods got delivered each morning, and so on, but he didn't like to hang around. Emerald was a pretty relaxed boss - she wasn't there half the time, since she felt she could trust her employees.

Blake sorted through the stuff Mercury dropped off, while Weiss put the chairs down, made sure the coffee machine was plugged in, and so on. "So," Blake said, grinning, making Weiss look up. "What happened yesterday?"

"We made coffee and got paid," she tried to say as flatly as possible but failed miserably as she literally skipped across the room to behind the counter. _Ruby's coming today!_

Blake almost laughed at that. "What happened during your lunch break?"

"We talked," she said brightly.

Blake walked over, resting her elbow on the table beside her. "About what?"

"Books, mainly. Oh, and dead parents," she added flippantly, too happy to show any emotions besides that.

Blake frowned. "You seem awfully...cheerful about that."

"Why shouldn't I be?" Weiss grinned as she took Ruby's chair by the window off it's table.

Blake promptly concluded that she was barking mad.

When they finally opened up, Weiss was ecstatic. All morning she glanced out of the frosted windows for a hint of red, or listened for the hum of her sister's motorcycle. After two hours of tuneless humming and whistling, wishing customers an absolutely fantastic day, smiling incessantly and Blake nearly calling a psychiatrist, Ruby turned up.

Weiss's elated mood instantly turned to a terrible feeling that she hadn't thought this through as soon as Ruby opened the door, her red cape disturbed by the wind outside. Her mind seemed to freeze up as she met her eyes - those stunning, silver eyes.

 _What do I say?! What was I thinking?! God, I can't even-_

"Hey, Weiss."

Weiss's neck felt a little warm now, her stomach tying itself in knots. "Hi. The usual?"

"Yes please, but I can't stay today. Yang's waiting outside."

Blake looked up sharply, glancing at Ruby. "Did you say...Yang?"

"Yeah, she's my sister," Ruby said cheerfully, while Weiss moved off awkwardly, blushing and such, to make the tea. "Do you know her?"

Blake frowned. "Wild yellow hair?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

Blake tipped her head to one side. "You don't have the same surname."

Ruby shook her head. "We're half sisters. How do you know her?"

Blake blinked. "Just a...thing. I thought I met her at a concert once. Three years ago. Wonder if she'd remember me." The barista's eyes shone with emotion that Weiss couldn't miss - curiosity? Wariness? Maybe even nostalgia?

Ruby remained ignorant of this, apparently not really one for reading the atmosphere. "I'll tell her you were here." Blake's eyes widened, and she was about to protest, but Ruby interrupted, oblivious. "Oh, and can I get a cronut, too? Chocolate, please."

Helpless, Blake bit her tongue and put the cronut into the paper bag. Weiss narrowed her eyes - she hadn't missed the exchange, but she guessed Blake wouldn't appreciate her prying. She turned around and handed the tea to Ruby. "One white rose tea," she said, smiling.

Ruby held her gaze, and Weiss could feel her cheeks heat up as their eyes locked. They both did nothing but look at each other for a long moment, before Weiss handed her the cup. Ruby grinned. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure. Have a good day."

As Ruby left, Weiss glanced over at Blake. She was resting her head in one hand, leaning on the counter, staring into space. Weiss thought it wise not to interrupt her. She was about to tend to the empty paper take-away cups that needed coffee in them, but Blake suddenly said, "She likes you back."

Weiss froze. "What?"

"Ruby. She likes you back."

No. No, that couldn't be right. That would be a foolish thing to hope. What were the chances of Ruby liking girls? And even if that was the case...the chances of someone as innocent and bright and perfect as Ruby were even slimmer. She started making some coffee. "Blake, you're mad. I hope you know that."

Blake shook her head, then strode over to the coffee machine to help Weiss. "No, seriously. She likes you back. Why else would she keep coming back here?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's the tea."

"She _said_ she likes you."

"Platonically."

Blake narrowed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. "I don't think so. Think about it, okay?"

Weiss swallowed. "You really think it's possible?"

"Yes. And even if I'm wrong, if you don't tell her how you feel, you'll always...regret it." She paused, running one hand through her thick, black hair. "You've changed, since she came in. You used to be kind of...bitchy. I don't mean any offence, but..."

"Yeah, I know," Weiss said, grimacing, as she placed a coffee cup on the counter, then called out, "Alfred!"

Blake frowned as the guy grabbed his coffee. "Wasn't that the weird guy who has maple syrup?"

"No. They look really similar though, don't they?"

"Mm."

Blake handed a cup of tea to an 'Arthur', then turned back to Weiss. "I really think she might have feelings for you. Just...think about it, okay?"

"...alright."


	3. Chapter 3

Monday afternoon.

Weiss cycled as quickly as possible to The White Stag on the off chance that Ruby would drop in today. She normally didn't go this fast, but she had to admit, she loved the feeling of the wind in her hair, which she had to tie lower to compensate for her helmet, and the ground blurring beneath her.

 _Gotta get there early, gotta see Ruby, gotta get there early, gotta see Ruby, gotta ge-_

"What the-"

Weiss broke off as she rounded a blind corner, crashed into another cyclist, and fell to the ground. Both bikes toppled over with a harsh scraping sound of metal on concrete. Weiss shakily got to her feet. She'd grazed her leg, and maybe her cheek, but other than that, she was okay. She brushed dust off her work clothes and glared at the other cyclist, a tall blonde teenager, male, with an unbuttoned white shirt and...abs.

"Y-you dunce! Watch where you're going!" she snapped, cursing silently as she noticed the chain on her bike was broken. _I'll have to walk now._

"Hey, hey! I'm not to blame - you sped around that corner! Like, really fast!" His hands were raised, his voice indignant.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Look, I have somewhere to be, and I don't want to waste any more time on you, you degenerate."

"It's Sun, actually," he said mildly.

"I don't care."

As she walked away, pulling the bicycle alongside her, she realised she hadn't snapped at someone like that since Ruby turned up. Usually it was a pretty regular thing.

 _Huh. Blake had a point. Maybe..._

And then it started to rain. Weiss sighed, wishing she had a hood to draw over her head. Or an umbrella. But preferably a bright red hood. She sighed, and held one arm up in front of her face. There was no point rushing now. She wouldn't be late, but she certainly wouldn't be early either. Coco and Fox would get there before her.

She looked down at her white shirt and saw a little bit of red on it. She frowned. _Blood?_ She raised one hand and pulled it across one cheek. When she looked at it again, it had blood on it too. She must look like an absolute mess. Hopefully she'd be able to get cleaned up before Ruby got there. Her cheek stung, but it was nothing. Still, there was certainly no way she could work while she looked like she'd just dropped in from the zombie apocalypse.

She leant her bike against the side of the building, then went in through the back. Coco and Fox were getting ready to take over from whoever worked during the day. She explained to the pair it was just a fall, then went to the bathroom to clean up her face.

As she's guessed, it wasn't that bad - just a little red mark on her cheekbone, once she'd washed it. She grabbed a couple of paper towels and pressed them on to stop the small amount of bleeding that was still going on. She tapped her foot impatiently, wondering whether she should put a bandaid or something on it, but decided against doing so - it would probably look worse than it was if there was padding all over it.

"Hey, Weiss?"

Weiss looked up as Coco poked her head around the door. "Yeah?"

"You sure you're good?"

"I'm fine. Just going to wait until it stops bleeding."

"Sure. Well, we're taking over for our shift in 15 minutes, but Fox and I have it covered."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Just try to be out there soon."

"Sure."

As Coco left, she took away the paper towel, folded it over, pressed it on the graze again, then checked for any more blood. There wasn't much. _I'll give it another five minutes._

Eventually, the bleeding stopped, and she came out. She checked her watch - it was just past four o'clock. She wouldn't have missed Ruby, assuming she was coming. If she had to get here from Signal Academy, The White Stag was a good half hour drive away.

The earlier part of the afternoon passed pretty uneventfully. The had to use her slightly broken German to try and get someone called Ludwig's order, but other than that, everything was normal.

About an hour later, Ruby came in. She was soaking wet, her hood pulled over her head. Her eyes immediately brightened when she saw Weiss. "Hi!"

Fox was already at the counter, so Weiss let him take her order. "Rose tea with milk?" he said, frowning. Weiss quickly explained she knew what Ruby meant, so he let her do it.

"Take away or eat in?"

"I'll have it here."

Weiss nodded, then went to the box of tea. She frowned as she saw a slip of paper in it.

' _Go get her. I believe in you. Etc, etc, etc. ~Blake'_

Weiss grinned.

Ruby took her usual place by the window. Weiss lingered around the counter for a while the rose tea brewed, blushing madly. She clenched one hand into a fist.

 _That's it. I have to tell her._

She bit her lip, tried to stop her hands from shaking, relatively unsuccessfully, then poured in the milk, and put the teacup carefully on the tray. Ruby was looking hopefully over her. Weiss nodded and strode towards her, praying she wouldn't drop the cup.

"There you go."

"Thanks."

Weiss froze, her heart thudding painfully hard, her neck burning. How exactly was she meant to do this? Did she just... say it? Or should she... no, she wasn't going to leave it now. She but her tongue, her mind racing.

"R-ruby?"

"Hm?"

She took a deep breath. "I...I like you. A lot. More than I should. More than society thinks I should. More than you...probably think I should."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "You mean..."

"Yeah. Like that. I just...thought you should know."

"I..." Ruby trailed off, lost for words.

"You don't have to come back here, if it makes you uncomfortable." Weiss said flatly, prepared for rejection, turning away. "I just...thought you should know."

"Not come back?! Weiss, I could kiss you!" Ruby was beaming now. She leapt out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Weiss, burying her face in her shoulder.

Weiss turned bright red. "Y-you could?!"

"Oh, thank God! I thought I would have to say it!"

"Wait - you..."

"You didn't know? I thought it was obvious. You were obvious."

Weiss stiffened. "What?! You knew all this time?! Wha-what tipped you off?!"

"You only charged me 3.50. You blushed, like, all the time. You said it was cold in the middle of Summer. You-"

"Okay, okay, I get it..."

"That's why I kept coming back," she added quietly. "But I wasn't sure. I was scared you'd think it was weird..."

"No, no! After all, I...you know..."

Weiss suddenly became aware that people were staring at them. Coco and Fox looked faintly amused - Fox even handed over a small wad of notes to Coco, looking considerably ticked off. Weiss frowned. _Have they been...betting about us? What has Blake said?!_

Ruby seemed to notice too, so she took Weiss's hand, and murmured, "I'll come back on Saturday."

Weiss felt tears prick her eyes. This was real. This was actually real.

"...I'd like that."

* * *

 **Hello, readers! Wow, I was seriously surprised at how quickly people started to find my stuff. This was so different to Wattpad...**

 **Anyways, there is a second work that goes alongside this one which is ready for you guys, on my profile - Bright Lights and Bumblebee! It's about Blake and Yang's chance encounter, mentioned in Chapter Two!**

 **Both of these closely linked works also have a sequel, Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens ^^ I reccommend reading both White Rose Tea, and Bright Lights and Bumblebee first, however.**

 **Thanks for reading! :3**


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